Mathew Remington-Edward Jones-Financial Advisor

This past week, markets were faced with a triple whammy of data: A Federal Reserve interest rate hike, ongoing turmoil in the banking system and a key jobs report for April. After raising interest rates by over 5.0% in just over a year, the Fed may finally be considering a pause in its rate-hiking campaign.

But the long and variable lags of interest rate increases may already be impacting the real economy. Nonetheless, while market volatility remains likely after a nice rally to the start of the year, we do see opportunities forming in both stocks and bonds as the extended bear market period yields to a potential bull market phase by year-end. Learn more on why we think this in our latest Weekly Market Wrap.

Weekly market wrap A summary of last week's market highlights and economic news.

Amid a flurry of corporate earnings releases and somewhat lackluster market activity last week, an important milestone went largely unnoticed. It was about six months ago that the S&P 500 dipped below 3600 (down 25% from its high), core inflation accelerated to a 40-year high at 6.6% and 10-year yields spiked to 4.25%.

Since then, markets have been climbing the proverbial wall of worry. We use the six-month milestone as an opportunity to reflect on what continues to support the rebound, what does not and share our thoughts on what the path ahead might look like in our Weekly Market Wrap.

Weekly market wrap A summary of last week's market highlights and economic news.

Despite a spike in volatility and an almost 8% pullback from the year's high, equities ended the month of March and the first quarter higher. In our Weekly Market Wrap, we share thoughts on what's behind the market's resilience and discuss the key factors we'll be monitoring that have the potential to shape the narrative in the months ahead.

Weekly market wrap A summary of last week's market highlights and economic news.

Renewed stock market swings continued last week in response to the latest developments in the outlook for Fed policy and employment conditions. A two-day congressional testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell dampened the market's mood as he emphasized the Fed's commitment to fighting inflation, signaling additional rate hikes ahead. The February jobs report grabbed the spotlight by week's end as markets looked to the latest employment trends for clues on the health of the economy.

There's plenty of information to digest, but it's important for investors to keep an eye on the broader view. While this current bear market has lasted longer than average, stocks are holding on to solid gains so far in 2023. We think the maturity of this bear market should also be viewed as progress toward what we expect will be a more sustainable recovery as we progress through the year. In our latest Weekly Market Wrap, we take a look at the current investment conditions, how they compare to history and what all of this tells us about the potential road ahead.

Weekly market wrap A summary of last week's market highlights and economic news.

Last week's jump in U.S. retail sales together with January's blowout jobs report paint the picture of an exceptionally strong economy. This backdrop is hardly what one would expect from an economy that is still navigating inflationary pressures and the most aggressive central bank tightening cycle in four decades. Which begs the question, does the Fed need to do more? The bond market appears to think so, but equities remain unfazed.

Given what we learned last week, we share our thoughts on how the market narrative might evolve and how some of the existing market tensions might be resolved.